I've said for quite a while that the election of Hamas in 'pali-land' wasn't an aberration, it was exactly what those people really wanted.
Oh the overt daily corruption of the Fatah creeps may have had something to do with it, but the voters knew what they were going to get when the put Hamas in charge.
And Hamas operatives violating sovereign Israeli borders, killing soldiers and civilians, and kidnapping Israeli military personell wasn't unexpected. It was entirely predictable. Hamas was just keeping their campaign promises as it were.
Now the other whackjobs, hizbolla, saw what Hamas had done regarding snatching a couple of soldiers and thought to themselves "We better get ourselves some hostages, too" (apologies to Steve Martin).
Now maybe this Ohlmert chap isn't a complete pussy. He's at least partially snapped the leash off the IDF and he certainly seems to mean what he says. I think Bush is playing this one masterfully as well. (There I said something nice about the President. I haven't been able to do that in a while.) It wouldn't suprise me if he and Blair knew that mic was on when he said "Assad has got to go".
Every body got worked up about Bush using a relatively mild epithet, but no one said much about his comments regarding Assad.
That little line must have Boy Assad pissing in his pants. Every other leader Bush has said that about has either had a serious change of heart, is dead, or in prison on trial.
The way I see it Assad now has two choices, neither of which are very good for him. He can try to rein in Hizbolla which may or may not work out so well. It's hard to fathom just exactly how much operational control he has over them. Or he can back them to the hilt and let them continue killing Israeli civilians. That also may not work out so well for him. He's got to be remembering that little fly by the IAF pulled a few weeks ago.
If Assad ain't careful he may be the recipient of a 2,000 lb peace offering right in his lap. Personally that's what I want.
L
That little line must have Boy Assad pissing in his pants. Every other leader Bush has said that about has either had a serious change of heart, is dead, or in prison on trial.
Sorry for the late reply. Your post hit it on the head. To paraphrase you slightly, I believe that we will know when the bottom has dropped out of Assad's world... when the world drops out of Assad's bottom...
Sorry, couldn't resist. :-) I hope you had a good weekend, Lurker. Ron